This discussion paper was the initiative of the Office of Governance , Government of Belize in 2007. The objective was efficiency in communicating with Government agencies.

1. Call
Your Government.
Your Way.
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A Discussion Paper for a Centralized Government Call Centre
(Widely circulated to leaders within the Public Service)
Office of Governance
Government of Belize
April 2007
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2. Office of Governance
YOUR GOVERNMENT. YOUR WAY.
1. Introduction
The Government of Belize is adopting a new “service oriented approach” to
ensure that citizens have simple and convenient access to high quality
products, services and information.
In the past, Government structured itself around its ministries and departments
– rather than the service needs of citizens. To obtain a service from
government, citizens had to go to a government office (often several miles
away), wait in line, fill in a set of forms, to find they didn’t have the necessary
information with them. Having completed one task, citizens sometimes then
had to go to another government office to complete a related transaction with
a different ministry.
Things have changed. Citizen expectations for responsive, high-quality
government services are increasing. Taxpayers are demanding that services be
timely, accurate and efficient – and designed around their needs, not the
structure of government. In turn, Government has realized that it is in “the
customer service business” and that it must simplify access to common
services, introduce modern business practices and continuously improve
performance standards.
The Government of Belize, through the Office of Governance, would like to
introduce an extensive Service Modernization Programme aimed at
transforming public sector service delivery throughout the country. The
programme revolves around five key principles:
1. Place the citizen at the centre of government’s service delivery model
(citizen-centric);
2. Adopt a one-stop-shop approach to assist citizens in completing several
transactions in a single “visit” (in person or via electronic means);
3. Exploit Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to simplify
user access and convenience;
4. Remove unnecessary bureaucracy, red tape and inefficient business
processes from government programmes and services; and
5. Introduce an “Extra Mile, Extra Smile” ethic into customer service.
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3. Office of Governance
2. The Transformation is Underway
The Service Modernization Programme is already underway and several
important initiatives are currently in progress including:
1. The introduction of the Council on Good Governance and Public
Sector Modernization (CGM);
2. Public Service Merit Awards Programme;
3. Public Officer Skills Development in topics such as Strategic
Planning, Evidence-Based Policy Development, Organizational
Review, Results-Based Performance Management, Customer Service
and Professional Report Writing;
4. Computer Training for Public Officers;
5. Most ministries and departments have introduced initiatives aimed
at greater efficiency, effectiveness and improvement of service
delivery – with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural
Resources, Local Government and the Environment at the forefront
of these changes; and
6. Most of the payroll processes have been automated with salary and
deduction transfers made online directly into Public Officers bank
accounts.
3. e-Government
Electronic Government (e-Government) is the application of ICT within public
administration. It represents a radically new way for Government to interact
with its constituents, clients and partners. e-Government extends the “reach”
of Government. It provides everyone with access to information and services,
from virtually any location, and at any time. Designed and implemented
effectively, e-Government can significantly improve the perception of public
administration and overall confidence in Government. Service standards can
be enhanced and customer satisfaction levels improved. e-Government also
has the potential to provide tangible savings in the amount of time, money and
human resources required to deliver public services. This is especially
important at a time when most government
organisations are looking to do-more-with-less,
and reduce the overall cost of service delivery.
The Government of Belize has taken an important
first step into e-Government with the introduction
of its National e-Government Portal –
www.governmentofbelize.gov.bz
The Portal provides a single point of entry for
citizens to access a variety of government
information sources and services.
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4. Office of Governance
The Office of Governance is currently developing a plan for further enhancing
the Portal to make it more intuitive for users and to provide more information
and services online.
4. 1-800-4-Belize
The telephone is the most commonly used form of ICT in the country. Although
only seven percent of Belizeans are Internet users1, over half of the population
(approximately 160,000) has regular access to a telephone (fixed line and/or
cellular).
As the cost of personal computers and Internet connectivity will continue to
remain beyond the reach of much of the population for the foreseeable future,
the option of accessing value-added government information and services via
the telephone becomes increasingly attractive for both government and its
citizens.
The concept of providing information and services through a central
government call centre is becoming increasingly popular and is now being
adopted by several countries around the world. In principle, the model works
as follows:
1. A convenient telephone number (1-800-4-Belize?) to a central
government call centre that provides information and advice for
the most commonly requested government services;
2. A low-cost, preferably free, call for citizens
3. Services can be provided in any of the official languages of the
country;
4. If the question is unique, complex or requires programme
specific input the customer service representative will direct the
caller to the specific ministry or department.
The benefits of a centralized government call centre are fairly obvious:
For Users:
• Simpler, more convenient access to government – one number to call,
no need to worry about which ministry to call
• Improved service
• Savings in time and money
• Improved perception of government
1
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ICT Statistics 2005.
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5. Office of Governance
For Government:
• Improved governance
• More consistent service delivery standards
• Allows ministries to focus on programme specific and value-added tasks
rather than “routine questions”
• Improved efficiency with potential rationalization and cost savings
• Improved public perception of government
• Catalyst for further public sector modernization and a move towards
“seamless government”
5. International Benchmark
The Government of Canada is widely recognized as the world’s leading
jurisdiction in terms of integrated service delivery and has been ranked in first
place in terms of public sector service transformation for the past five years by
the international consulting company Accenture.
Service Canada is the central government
organization responsible for providing one-
stop access to public services. Service Canada
manages online government information and
services (www.servicecanada.gc.ca) and has
hundreds of one-stop Service Canada Centres
situated across the country that deliver a variety of common services at
centralized government offices.
Service Canada also operates the government’s central call centre – 1 800 O-
Canada. 1 800 O-Canada is the primary telephone access point for up-to-date
information on more than 3,000 programmes and services offered by more than
180 government departments. The call centre has approximately 90 bilingual
(English/French) customer service agents available online at anytime. The
centres receive approximately 1.25miliion calls per year and can satisfactorily
address clients requests approximately 90% of the time. The average time
spent answering a call is approximately 4 minutes – with unusual or
programme-specific requests being directed to the appropriate department.
6. Moving Forward
There would appear to be significant merit in evaluating the feasibility of a
centralized call centre for the Government of Belize. The following tasks are
recommended to assist in moving this analysis forward:
1. Discuss the concept with selected ministries and other potential
stakeholders to determine level of interest and support;
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2. Approach funding institutions such as the Commonwealth Secretariat,
UNDP or CARICAD with a view to providing funding for the production of
a business case to look at the costs, benefits, opportunities and risks of
introducing a centralized call centre;
3. Consider establishing a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Government of Canada to advise and assist Belize with its National ICT
and e-Government programmes; and
4. Assemble a project team comprising of persons from all sectors to
develop the call centre business case. It is anticipated that the task
would take approximately three months to complete.
Myrtle Palacio, OBE
Director
OFFICE OF GOVERNANCE
Belmopan, BELIZE
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A Discussion Paper for a Centralized Government Call Centre